Here are some of the common agreed rules for using Internet-based terms from The Everyday Writer and Wired.

  • Email addresses in your prose:

    1. When an email address is to be used in a writeup, and it is not an actual link for sending email, italicize it.

    2. If the email address is a parenthetical object, include parenthesis around the italicized address. For example: "Send mail to Rancid_Pickle (rancid_pickle@everything2.com)".

    3. When email addresses don't fit in a sentence, do not break them up and add a hyphen. Attempt to just push it to the next line using the <br> tag. If you must break up the address, break it before the @ sign or in the letters. Don't break where there are periods, it may confuse the reader.

  • Using URLs:

    1. Italicize your URLs. It helps to separate them from the normal text.

    2. Domain names are normally lowercase.

    3. If a URL is very long, do not break it at a hyphen, a protocol tag (http://, ftp:// or even gopher://) or after a punctuation mark (~, -, _, /, \, |, .). You can break before a punctuation mark and carry it to the next line.

  • Avoid using redundant terms:

    1. CD disc (translates to compact disc disc).

    2. PIN number (translates to personal identification number number).

    3. DOS operating system (you get the idea).

    4. LCD display.

    5. RAM memory.

  • Use jargon correctly:

    1. Browser: Software for viewing pages on the World Wide Web.

    2. Internet: Always capitalized and preceded by "the" unless it is a modifier. Includes the World Wide Web, newsgroups, forums, etc.

    3. World Wide Web, the Web: Always capitalized. The Web is an application running on the Internet.

    4. Always use acronyms that are appropriate to the audience, or explain them the first time they are used.
I hope these help you with your writeups.

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